My Look Into Mobile’s Future

Staring at my cell phone this morning I had a vision. I know it sounds a little nutty, but it wasn’t one of these psychic visions – in fact it probably just the result of all of the research I have been doing on this subject. It was more like in the movies where the character looks into the mirror but sees a different world behind it. That’s what happened to me, only it wasn’t a mirror, it was just that piece of glass that shields the LCD screen from being directly pressed against my ear, and the world that I was peering into was clearly the not-too-distant future.

But this is when I realized the opportunity that this future holds.

My vision stared while staring at my Google Map application. I had typed in a local coffee shop to get their phone number, but instead of the typical resutls (address, phone number, etc.), there was also a coupon presented as part of the results. I’ve heard of mobile couponing before. That was not what I found interesting about the vision. What I did find interesting was that it was tied to a particular location, which had shown up as the result of a query I put into my mapping application. Here I was just looking for a coffee shop, but they offered me a coupon… on my phone, for that store, as part of a search! Brilliant! My vision didn’t actually showing me going to that coffee shop and presenting my coupon, but I’m willing to bet I would have gone.

As that vision spirited away, I saw something else. I was reading the news on my cell phone’s internet browser and I was presented a mobile ad (I think it was Spiderman Episode 12 or something). Anyway, I clicked on the ad (I mean of course I did… some mobile ads campaigns have shown click-through rate of up to 10%), but instead of going to a lame static mobile optimized page it opened in my YouTube application and played the movie trailer. Once the movie trailer wrapped up, the phone went back to my browser app and landed on Fandango.com showing the theatres nearest me and the show times. I bought tickets! My phone did all the work for me. I loved it!

(Since my vision this morning, I have come to find out that AdMob, a mobile ad network, is already experimenting with things similar to this.)

My vision ended there, but what I took away from it was this. We are currently there, right at the Mobile frontier. We should learn from the lessons of those who also found themselves on the frontier – like the pioneers during the California Gold Rush. The poor sap that showed up last also went home with empty pockets.

I guess what I am trying to say is this. I am not the only one who is seeing this vision. You have a choice, either you venture into this frontier early (before this vision becomes reality), or be the poor sap that shows up last and goes home with empty pockets.

Tags: Mobile Development